Matt Smith (rugby union, born 1996)

Matthew Cameron Smith (born 5 October 1996 in Scotland) is a Scottish rugby union player who played for Edinburgh Rugby at the Flanker position.

Matt Smith
Birth nameMatthew Cameron Smith
Date of birth (1996-10-05) 5 October 1996
Place of birthScotland
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
SchoolStirling High School
Notable relative(s)Alex Smith (Great grandfather)[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015
2015–		 Stirling County
Glasgow Hawks		 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014-2020
2020-June 2020		 Glasgow Warriors
→Edinburgh		 20 15

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Smith was part of the Stirling County youth set-up. He won man of the match in the National Youth League Cup final when Stirling Country won the tournament in 2013. They had previously won the same tournament in 2011 and 2012.[2]

In 2015-16 season, Smith moved to play for Glasgow Hawks. Smith has been drafted to Glasgow Hawks in the Scottish Premiership for the 2017-18 season.[3]

Professional career

The flanker secured an Elite Development Programme place with Glasgow Warriors for the 2014–15 season. This meant he could continue playing for Stirling County [4] whilst training with the Warriors.[5]

The following season he was named as a Scottish Rugby Academy Stage 3 player. Stage 3 players are assigned to a professional team; and once again Smith was assigned to Glasgow Warriors for 2015-16.[6]

In 2016-17 season Smith once again was classed as a Warriors player. He was promoted out the academy on 19 December 2016 by Glasgow Warriors earning a contract for a year and a half.[7]

On 7 February 2020 Smith was loaned to Edinburgh Rugby for the remainder of the season.[8]

In June 2020, following a period of reflection during the suspension of rugby during the COVID-19 pandemic, Matt took the decision to retire from playing professional rugby. He announced the decision on Twitter.

International career

Smith was capped by Scotland U20s against France in 2015.[9] He was called up to Scotland's squad for the 2019 Six Nations Championship.[10]

Family

His sister, Hannah,[11] has played representative rugby for Scotland. His great grandfather, Alex Smith,[1] played association football for Rangers and Dunfermline Athletic.

References
  1. http://www.scottishrugby.org/scotland-u20/player/matt-smith
  2. "Stirling County Colts defend two-year under-18 Cup reign".
  3. "Pro-player draft".
  4. "Discover more about the team who makes up Stirling County Rugby Football Club". Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  5. "Eight join Elite Development roster at Scotstoun".
  6. "Players inducted into BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academies".
  7. http://www.glasgowwarriors.org/news/16/12/19/smith-and-wynne-sign-professional-contracts-warriors
  8. https://www.theoffsideline.com/matt-smith-joins-edinburgh-on-loan-until-end-of-the-season/
  9. "Scotland U20 (Matt Smith) - Scottish Rugby Union".
  10. "Six Nations 2019: Scotland call up Crosbie, Smith, Dunbar & Harley as Watson drops out". BBC. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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